Email Copywriting: Making an Online Impression
With technology now being the core method of communication in today’s world, email etiquette has become an essential aspect of business. While practicing brevity is appropriate from time to time, there are situations that call for clear, well written emails. This can be as a sales pitch, marketing emails, special offers, or surveys, but one that is easy to read and exudes professionalism is the best approach to moving up in the business world.
The first step is to know your audience before writing your emails. Are you talking to a client, colleague, or company executive? The tone can change drastically, depending on who you’re talking to. As a best practice, always maintain professionalism regardless of who you are communicating with.
In terms of client emails, you’ll want to hone in on your marketing skills. As a rule of thumb, avoid using lazy phrases in an attempt to draw in potential customers. Taglines at the ends of emails like “learn more” or “click here” tend to leave a bad taste in people’s mouths. Say specifically what it is that you are selling or trying to get them to see.
Be sure to get to the point as quickly as you can. Rarely do people enjoy reading long winded emails that require paragraphs of explanation. Keep in mind that the subject line is exactly that: the subject of the email. Between that and the first few sentences, readers should understand exactly what it is they were sent. Of course, cleverly disguising your sales pitch is a tactic used by many, but depending on the situation, being straightforward is almost always your best course of action.
Another email copywriting rule to live by is to always stay above the fold. Try not to write an email so long that it requires the reader to scroll down to see its entirety. Similar to being straightforward in your messages, enormous walls of text can intimidate even the most confident individuals, deterring them from reading the email at all.
For sales emails, understand the difference between pitching an offer versus pitching a product. Unless the product has already been established and the reader is perhaps subscribed to your newsletter, it must be clearly defined. Once that is done, offering discounts or specials with appealing text and an attractive layout can do wonders for sales.
Once the audience has been identified and addressed, etiquette is your next concern. Always use proper grammar. This is obviously huge in copywriting. Spelling errors or incorrectly using punctuation can make an otherwise professional person look lazy and senseless. Emoticons, while sometimes fun to use, should never be included in an email. They can come across as the sender being a highly emotional person, which may be beneficial, or spell disaster in the business world.
Emails are easy, but not to be taken for granted. Standard copywriting procedure should be followed regardless of the person(s) you are sending them to. You are presenting yourself through one of the most widely used forms of communication in the world, therefore making it almost as important as making a great first impression upon meeting someone in person.
